Saratoga Casino Holdings, located in Saratoga Springs, New York, experienced a significant information technology issue last week that affected operations at its three commercial casinos. As a result, the company’s properties in Colorado and Mississippi had to close for three days due to the glitch.
The parent company of Saratoga Casino Hotel, which features a combination of a horse racetrack and casino with video lottery terminals and electronic table games, is still working to resolve the IT problem. Saratoga Casino Holdings also owns and operates Saratoga Casino Black Hawk in Colorado and Magnolia Bluffs Casino in Mississippi. Both of these casinos have remained closed as the company’s IT team continues to address the issue.
While Saratoga Casino Hotel in New York has managed to stay open, patrons have expressed frustration over the limited operations caused by the IT problems. Some customers took to social media to complain about disabled rewards cards and promotions. Although Saratoga Black Hawk and Magnolia Bluffs informed guests about the technical difficulties through social media updates, Saratoga Casino Hotel encouraged visitors to take advantage of the extra hour from daylight savings to try their luck at the casino.
Saratoga Casino Holdings has not disclosed the exact cause of the IT issues or whether the incident was due to a hacking event. Amy Brannigan, the marketing director of Saratoga Casino Holdings, confirmed that all properties were affected in some way, but there is no estimated timeline for when the casinos will reopen.
In recent years, casinos have increasingly become targets for hackers and ransomware groups. Major operators like MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment have fallen victim to hacking incidents, resulting in substantial financial losses. MGM refused to pay a ransom and incurred over $100 million in damages, while Caesars chose to pay hackers $15 million to restore its systems with minimal disruption.
As Saratoga Casino Holdings continues to address the IT problems impacting its operations in multiple states, patrons and industry experts are closely monitoring the situation to see how the company will resolve these issues and prevent future incidents from occurring. The importance of cybersecurity in the gaming industry is becoming more critical as technology plays a significant role in casino operations and customer data protection.
